My Own Act
by Magnus-Bane-1994
Summary: Gem is a dancer, and her big brother is a tad bit protective. What happens when he lets her try out for her own act?
1. Prologue

Prologue

Dangerous. That's what my brother was at the moment. With his hair down and face devoid of any makeup he stalked across the floor of his tent to face me. "I can't have ye complainin' all the time to the others." He said. With one hand he yanked on the knot around his neck and ran the other through his hair. Nervously, I fidgeted under his strong gaze. "You're important to me Em. I can't have ye up on the ropes with Doll or havin' Dagger throw his knives at ye. You're not happy as my assistant, so what DO ye want to do?" he asked, finally sitting on the edge of his small bed. I smiled at him and walked over to stand in front of him. Cautiously I reached out and untied his silk bow, draping it over the back of the chair next to me.

"I want me own act." He scoffed at me and began to unbutton his vest. "I'm serious Joker! Give me a chance; I'll prove it to ye. I can dance on the ground just as well as Wendy does in the air." He looked at me with calculating eyes.

"Right then. Say I let ye show me this dance of yours. Who'll be you're partner?" I blushed, I hadn't thought of that. "See? That right there is why you don't have an act in the show. Ye can't even talk to your own brother without puttin' roses in your cheeks."

"Well, what about Smile? He seems graceful enough to take me on as a dancin' partner." He shot me a look and thought it over. I held my breath in anticipation.

"Right. Meet with Smile in the trainin' tent an' teach him this dance of yours." I stared at him, open mouthed. He looked back at me and shut my jaw with his skeletal hand, tenderly patting my cheek in the process. "Go on then. Hop to it."


	2. Chapter 1, Welcome To the Circus

Welcome To the Circus

"Right-o. First couple a steps are easy enough." I said, pulling my hair up into a messy knot behind my head. Some strands fell in front of my face and I blew them away with an irritated puff of air. Joker was watching, I could feel his eyes on my back every step I made. Smile watched and picked it all up very easily, and I was happy to see that he understood the movements. "Now let's do it together at the right pace before the actual audition." I said. He nodded and took his place, kneeling down on one knee. I settled daintily on his other knee and nodded at the orchestra to begin the music.

The dance was flawless and I grinned through the whole thing. Smile got the whole dance and we finished perfectly on time with the ending music. The tent had cleared and we were the only two left. From the shadows came the sound of slow clapping and Joker stepped into the light.

"That was absolutely stunning, Emaline. I never knew ye could dance like that." I grinned at him through a thin curtain of bright orange hair.

"Ye mean it?" I asked. "Ye really liked it?" he nodded and smiled back at me.

"I've got four simple words for the pair of ye." He said, placing a hand on each of our shoulders. "Welcome to the circus." Smile looked up at Joker with doubtful eyes and sputtered out a protest.

"You can't be serious. I can't dance in a circus! I can't even dance in the first place." He tried to explain but Joker waved it away with a large smile and a pat to the top of Smile's head.

"Now, I'll have Dagger take you two to the seamstress for costumes tonight after the show. You can start tomorrow night so rest up you two." I nodded and bolted for my tent, I wasn't going to miss tonight's show. Once I got to my tent I dove under my bed and pulled out a pair of simple black boots. I sat on the edge of my bed and replaced my worn ballet slippers with the boots and tucked my hair under a cap before slipping into the big top to watch the show.

"Laaaadies and Gentlemen, boys and girls. Welcome to the Noah's Ark Circus let the show of the century begin!" Joker shouted over the din of the crowd. An excited murmur fell over the crowd as their eyes were drawn upward. "To start us off this fine evening please welcome to the big top our very own Doll with her balancing act!" I clapped and gasped in awe right along with the crowd as we watched Doll walk the tightrope with perfect ease. "Ain't she lovely folks?" Joker asked, bringing all attention back to him. "Next up we have the gravity defying duo, Wendy and Peter." He said with a flourish of his cane. All eyes were pulled towards the trapeze act above our heads. The show was flawless as each act ended and another began.

After the show I went to find Joker. While searching I found Smile talking with a few of the extra hands we have. "Smile! Come on, we've got to find Joker before Dagger takes us out." I said, grabbing his arm and pulling him through the crowd. Within the next few minutes I spotted a crown of bright orange spikes and ducked under legs and around arms to reach him. "Joker!"

"Ah there's my gem of a sister." He said fondly laying an arm around my shoulders. "Dagger, over here!" he called. I looked around to see Dagger jogging in our direction. Once he reached us he let out a grin.

"What can I do for you Joker?" he asked.

"Take these two to the nearest seamstress for their costumes." He said, Dagger nodded in return and turned towards us. I smiled and gave Joker a hug before catching up to Dagger and Smile. "You'll be the gem of the show, Em." He called after me. I turned to wave over my shoulder and promptly bumped into someone.

"Oh I'm so-" I was cut off by Snake's soft voice in my ear.

"Where is dear Emaline off to in such a rush? Wonders Oscar." I blushed and pulled away from him, stuttering to find an answer.

"I, well you see I was just on my way out and, well I, I'm sorry." I finished with an even deeper blush than before. Before I could embarrass myself further I ran to catch up with Dagger. Snake stood stock still and watched us go and if I didn't know him better I would say he looked almost sad to see me going.

"You two are going to be a perfect addition to the show I just know it. Do you have any ideas for what colors you're going to wear?" Dagger asked in an excited chatter as I neared him. I shot him a broad smile and nodded.

"I like the colors purple and yellow." I said. Smile looked as if he were thinking of other things so I grabbed his hand and pulled him into the conversation. "What about you Smile?" I asked. He seemed shocked for a moment but regained his composure.

"Oh, I like blue." He offered with a weak shrug. Dagger scoffed at him and placed an arm around his shoulders.

"Ye can't just have one color in a circus costume, Smile. I mean, look at us all, we're full of color!" he said.

"But I like blue." Smile argued. Dagger frowned and mulled things over a bit.

"Blue and silver then. We wouldn't want ye clashing now would we?" he asked as we neared the seamstress shop. "Alright, in ye go." He said, ushering us into the small shop. I looked around the dimly lit room and spotted racks and racks of material, jars of buttons, spools of ribbon and more. Smile seemed overwhelmed by all this so I gave his hand a small squeeze. He gave me a startled look which I returned with a smile.

"Smile, Smile." I whispered, repeating the words of my brother. In return I got what I least expected. Smile's face split into a huge grin.


	3. A Word From MagnusBane1994

**A/N**

** Just in case you were wondering I do have a costume for Gem/Emaline. It is rather lengthy as far as descriptions go but it's still a description, right? So here we go. She wears stockings, yellow on the right leg and purple on the left. Her left ballet shoe is yellow and her right one is purple, she wears a purple and yellow layered tutu and a silver leotard with purple and yellow hearts cascading down the right side. She wears fingerless mesh gloves that reach up to her elbows, the left one is yellow and the right one is purple. On her head she wears a little purple top hat with yellow flowers in it. As for her hair and make-up she wears her hair in pig tails and she has a purple upside down heart on her right cheek and three silver dots under her left eye. If anybody out there has an artistic ability and would like to draw her, just let me know. I don't mind her being drawn as long as I know about it.**


End file.
